Behind His Mask version 2
by xWindScarx10
Summary: Chapter 1 up. Don't forget poll 2 on my profile!
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I don't own either anime in this story._

_**Prologue: The Mask is formed**_

"_So, how is the plan going, master?" A man in a black kimono with white hair and an oddly wide grin plastered on his face._

"_Good, but there are small difficulties." A another man in a black kimono with brown hair and glasses answered._

"_What type of difficulties?" the first man asked again his grin never leaving his face once._

"_The experiment that the, now former, taicho of squad 12, Kisuke Urahara disappeared with him and the, also now former, taicho of squad 2, Yoruichi. Their location is unknown at this moment," the second man said, "but I was able to gain two new followers to our cause."_

"_Who might they be, if you don't mind me asking?" the first man intrigued by the news of two new members to his master's cause._

"_The first is the newly appointed taicho of the ninth division, Kaname Tosen. The second one is a ninja in the five elemental countries that just recently turned traitor on his village. He is one of the 'Legendary Three' or Sannin. Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin." the second man replied._

"_A ryoka? Is that wise, Aizen-sama?" the first man asked worried about all this._

"_Do not worry, Gin. He is a worthy ally in our fight. All he asks is help in becoming immortal." Aizen chuckled at his ex-fukutaicho's worried face._

_Unknown to the two, a teenage girl with long red hair, fox ears, and nine red tails was listening in on the entire conversation. '__I must let Otou-san and Yamamoto-sama know of this at once._' she thought as she readied herself to head back home only to realize she can't move.

"What the hell? I can't move," she murmured to herself as she looks to see a boa constrictor had her in its clutches.

"Kukuku… It seems you had an intruder, Aizen-sama." A pale-faced man said as the door opened revealing the spy to the others.

"It seems so and I do believe it is the eldest daughter of the Fox lord, Kyuubi no Yoko." Aizen replied.

"You won't get away with this, Aizen-teme. When my tou-san sees that I have not returned, he will come looking and you will get caught." Kyuubi growled as she tried again to get out of her bindings.

"I don't know about that since you will be going on a rampage on the one village that you love." Orochimaru chuckled as he prepared an extremely powerful Genjutsu and Aizen prepared the instant transportation for as soon as Orochimaru finished the jutsu.

"You can't do this! NO!" Kyuubi screamed as Orochimaru was finishing the hand seals.

"Oh, yeah. Say hello to Minato and his wife for me. **Forbidden Art: Gekido Genkaku no Jutsu****!**" Orochimaru said as he performed the final hand seal.

As Kyuubi's eye's clouded over, a portal opened up sending her 10 miles away in the direct path of Konohagakure no Sato in her full demon beast form.

**The Night of the Attack**

"Just one more push and it will be all over, Kushina-chan!" the blonde doctor said, as she got ready to take the baby out.

"AHHHHH!!!" Kushina screamed as she made the final push.

The room fell silent with only the sounds of fighting outside and a baby's cry. "Congratulations, it's a boy!" the doctor said while holding the baby.

"Arigato, Tsunade-hime. It means a lot that you came back to deliver mine and Minato's child." Kushina said in her weakened state.

"What type of friend would I be to ignore a request like delivering their baby?" Tsunade retorted and then asked, "So, this boy is going to be used to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune in, huh?"

"Yes, but I wish my husband would rethink the "tell the village" deal. We all know that the only way anyone will accept him as a hero is by announcing he is his son." Kushina replied as she cradled the newborn blonde baby.

"I will go ahead and call them in." Tsunade said as she exited the room to wash up and call in the others. As the door closed behind her, there was one thought going through her head, '_That boy will be one of the greatest heroes this world has ever seen._'

Ten minutes had passed before the door opened again. Three men and two teens entered the room. They were Jiraiya, the Gama Sannin, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Rin, and her husband, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage.

"Hey, Kushina-chan. How you feeling?" Minato asked as he sat next to her and looked at the baby she was holding with sadden eyes.

"I don't know if I should feel happy or sad right now. I am happy that he was born, but I am also sadden that he was born today of all days." Kushina answered as she looks out the window facing towards the direction Kyuubi was coming from.

"I know, I just wish there was another way to beat Kyuubi without sealing her into him." Minato sighed sadly as he looks into the baby's, now open, blue eyes.

'Minato-kun/sensei,' were the sadden thoughts of the crowd as they watched Minato take the baby in his arms, stood and disappeared in a yellow flash back to the Hokage Tower to prepare his son for the sealing. After he left, Kushina finally broke down and cried thinking about what would happen to her son and husband.

(Three days after Kyuubi's sealing – Main Council Room)

It had been three days exactly since Kyuubi's sealing into the baby. The death toll had finally been counted and damage was reviewed. Along with this, the civilian council heads had been asking for the death of the 'demon spawn', as they called him, and Danzo had been asking for the baby to be given to him to train.

'Fat chance in hell, baka.' The reinstated Sandaime Hokage thought, 'The day I do as you ask is the day that Orochimaru comes up to me and tells me to kill him.'

"… That's why he should join my 'Ne' ANBU. He would be the perfect weapon for Konoha." Danzo said, smirking as the High Elders, Koharu and Homura, the Haruno Head, Haruno Yasha, and a few other civilian heads nodded their heads in agreement.

"I am not going to give you the boy, Danzo. He is going to be raised by his mother and if he wants to become a shinobi of Konoha, then he will. So shut your goddamn mouth before Haishi does it for you." Hiruzen growled at the old warhawk. Which this was true, Haishi looked like he was going to rip Danzo a new one, since he knew whom the baby's parents were.

"That demon has no mother!" Yasha screamed, which caused everyone to cover his or her ears from the pink-haired banshee's screech.

"Yes, he does and she is the one taking over the empty seat on the council." Hiruzen replied, after recovering from the screeching ring in his ears.

"If you don't mind me asking Sandaime-sama, but isn't the only seat left the Namikaze clan's? Also, if I remember correctly, Yondaime-sama never married anyone." Shikaku asked lazily with half-lidded eyes staring confused at the Hokage, who was chuckling.

"That is where you are wrong. Minato did in fact marry. It was one month before he became the Yondaime Hokage. Actually, three people here, excluding me, had witnessed this event." Hiruzen smirked as he looked at Danzo's ever-growing scowl.

"And who would be this wife of the Yondaime, Sarutobi?" Danzo glared at his rival, only to turn towards the opening doors of the council room.

There at the doors stood Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina hold a bundle in her arms with Kakashi and Rin standing to either side of her. Staring right at Danzo, she replied, "That would be me. Got a problem with that, you old hawk?"

This really infuriated Danzo as he glared at Kushina and yelled, "You will show respect, Uzumaki bitch"

"Respect is earned, not given, you old goat. So you show respect to Kushina-onee-sama or you won't get any back." Rin growled back.

"Alright, that is enough. As of right now, I am setting a law on the truth of the Kyuubi's defeat. None of the younger generations, who don't already know about what happened, are allowed to know the truth. Anyone who reveals this, other then Kushina, Naruto, when he learns of this, and myself will be charged with treason and be executed. Is that clear?" Sandaime bellowed as he glared at the council, or more specifically Danzo and the suspiciously silent Uchiha Fugaku.

After a round of nods, the council was dismissed.

After the meeting adjourned, Kushina (and Naruto), Hiruzen, Haishi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya left to talk in private about things to come in the Hokage's office.

(Hokage's Office – 10 minutes later)

After everyone took a seat, Haishi decided to ask the question that was on his mind since the meeting earlier had started, "Hokage-sama, do you plan on continuing what Minato had planed."

"Ah, yes. The new ANBU division. We will have to push that back for a while, at least until Naruto-kun begins his training in the Shinigami and Shinobi arts. Until then, Haishi, you need to focus on your wife. From what I heard she is a little over two months from giving birth to your first child." Hiruzen replied as Haishi nodded understandingly.

"Well until Naruto graduates from the academy, I can't teach him anything. So I will be out of Konoha for next 13 years, except for reports, missions, and to just checking up on everyone." Jiraiya said, even though he was thinking something differently, '_Soon I will have my next book finished, and start my 'research' for my next book. Hehehe._'

"I will be leaving Konoha soon to get some fresh air and try getting over my fear after what happened to Dan. Shizune will be coming with me and I don't know how long I will be gone." Tsunade frowned.

"I understand. This is a tragic time and we need you at your best. You, Jiraiya, with your spy network and you, Tsunade, as one of our best medics. With both Kushina and Hitomi (Haishi's wife) out of active duty, we are going to be struggling but we will prevail in this challenge." Hiruzen replied.

"I have been meaning to ask, what name did Minato-kun come up with for the new division?" Kushina asked.

"Truthfully, he just called it 'The Fourteenth Division'. I think he wanted it to be simple, instead of some crazy name. He also said it was to act as a branch of Soul Society's Gotei 13. Anyway, I suggest that we all turn in for the night." He said as the others stood end headed out.

(8 years later – Namikaze Mansion – Training Grounds)

It had been eight years since the Kyuubi's defeat. Everything started to return to the way it used to be. The only big problem was the 75 percent that saw Naruto as Kyuubi, instead of its container. There had been attacks, but none got any further then five steps from the main building. The attackers only saw one thing before they 'disappeared'. A flash of red.

When Naruto turned four, he was immediately started with his training. Kushina had taught him everything he would learn in the shinobi academy in the first six months and all the bookwork of the shinigami academy in the second six months.

When Naruto turned five, Kushina started his physical and chakra control training, along with beginner Hado and Bakudo spells. During this time, Jiraiya had returned for the first time in five years. Of course he was not alone. On his way back with some info on a new organization popping up, he ran into three kids around five or six years old. After learning that they were orphans from a recent battle between the borders of Kusa no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni, he offered them a asylum at Konoha, or more specifically the Namikaze Mansion.

When Jiraiya told her about this, she agreed right away and started training them along side her son. When Naruto turned six, they had started to increase the training and started learning how to fight with a sword.

Now, after two years later, four kids stood in front of her. The first on the far left stood at 3'11", had sapphire blue hair going down to his shoulders, and red eyes, that if you didn't know any better, looked like the Uchiha's Sharingan. He wore a dark blue shirt with black shinobi-issued pants. His Zanpakutō strapped to his left side, kunai holster on his right thigh, and ninja pouch on his right backside. His name was Shana Ryuu.

The next one stood at 3'09", had blood red hair going down just below her shoulders in a ponytail, and dark blue eyes. She wore a light red blouse with black shinobi-issued pants and a short white skirt overtop of it. Her equipment setup is the same as Ryuu except that her ninja pouch was bigger, indicating that she was a medic nin. Her name was Lockhart Anita.

The third person stood at 3'07", had snow white hair that reached mid-back, and light green eyes. She wore a black blouse with blue shinobi-issued pants. Her equipment was the same as the others except her Zanpakutō was set behind her back, the hilt poking out over her left shoulder. Her name was Yuki Aiya.

The last one on the far right stood 3'11", had spiky blond hair, and crystal blue eyes. He, at the time, was wearing a neon orange jumpsuit. His equipment was the same as the others except he did not have his Zanpakutō strapped to him but sealed away in a scroll for safekeeping. His name was Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

Of course, she knew the reason behind him being dressed like this instead of his true clothing. Just one month ago, the Uchiha clan massacre happened leaving only two survivors. The first one was Uchiha Itachi, the cause of the massacre. The second one was Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's little brother. The Sandaime Hokage wanted someone to keep an eye on him that he could trust. The only problem was there were only two people he could trust with this mission and one wasn't a shinobi yet. The other was always busy with missions. So he decided on someone who could keep an eye on him until the final year at the academy, where a trusted friend of the Namikaze clan could help more.

Sighing from just thinking that her son would have to make an idiot of himself, she scanned over them one more time. "Okay, Ryuu, Anita, Aiya. You have probably noticed that Naruto is dressed differently today." They nodded, of course you could see Anita's left eyebrow twitched slightly. "This is because he will be going to the Shinobi academy for a surveillance mission. He will be watching the "last" Uchiha to make sure he doesn't do anything. While doing so, he must put up a mask of a hyperactive idiot. So, you four won't be together for the next five years." She paused here, due to the whines of the four kids in front of her. This made her laugh a little. "With that said, good luck, Naruto. The next time we see each other will be after you and the Uchiha graduate." With that said, Kushina knelled down and hugged Naruto for the last time in the next five years.

Naruto returned the hug and after that was done and the goodbyes were exchanged, Naruto left the compound and head towards the academy.

(Konoha Ninja Academy – Room 205)

The classroom was filled with kids, 7 of which were the clan heirs. They were all talking, playing, reading, or, in Shikamaru's case, sleeping. This was the scene that the Chunin instructor came into.

After settling the class down, the Chunin instructor began to speak, "Ohaiyo, class. Today, we will have a new student joining us. Please give him a warm welcome." Of course, you could tell the hatred in the instructor's voice.

Just then, the door flew open and in slid our orange jumpsuit hero. Pointing towards the class, he shouted, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto and I am going to be the next Hokage!" Ending with a fox-like grin. Thus was the birth of the mask of Naruto.

**A/N:** The prologue of the revision of my story is complete. I have introduced three OC's in this that will have rolls in the future. They will return with Kushina in the second chapter. This will be much different than version 1.0 in storyline. But ideas from the first version will still be apart of this but further in the story. Hope you liked it. Read and Review!

**Poll Alert: **Poll one is closed and Poll 2 opens. I have decided to automatically add Yugito, Fem. Nibi no Nekomata, and the female OC Yuki Aiya to the Harem. Poll switch will happen at the beginning of the new year so watch out for it. And this poll will continue until after the Sand/Sound invasion, so you have a long time to vote readers. So, HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Forbidden Art: Gekido Genkaku no Jutsu (Forbidden Art: Rage Illusion Jutsu): As the name says, it is a forbidden S-rank Genjutsu. The victim of this jutsu goes into a rage induced rampage on anything it sees. Can only be cancelled if the one who performed the jutsu is killed or a certain seal is put on the victim. (In Kyuubi's case, the seal is put on Naruto.)


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay, sorry for the wait, but I am back. With work and getting my computer up to date, I haven't had time to think on this story. Also my mind has been reeling with new stories to write and new stories to read. The winner of the first poll was harem as I said in the prologue, and the second poll will not end until after the Chu-nin exams saga ends which will be a while. The second poll will also be taken down for the month of May no matter what. A third poll will be posted in its place, along with previews for new stories that I will be writing. This will be to decide which story I will be starting for this year along with continuing this story.

Back to the harem, the pairing as of now is Hinata, Fem. Kyuubi, Yugito, Fem. Nibi, and my OC, Yuki Aiya. Now all that's left are the two who will win the poll.

Now on with the story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

**Chapter 1: Wave of Change**

(5 years later - Mission Office)

It had been five years since Naruto had been asked to join the academy and keep an eye on the 'last' Uchiha in Konoha. Today was the day that his mission ended and he would be rejoining his true team. But of course, he had to wait another ten minutes for the 'mission' he had finished with his 'team' to leave and they got another mission.

His 'team' was interesting, but lacked teamwork. To his left was the 'Rookie of the Year', Uchiha Sasuke. He was also known, at least to Naruto and Kiba, as the gay emo bastard. Why was he known as that? Well, to put it simply, he has not shown interest to ANY female that crosses his path or jumps at him for a date. To his right was the 'Kunoichi of the Year', Haruno Sakura. Of course the only reason that she got that title was because Haishi did NOT want Hinata to be on the same team as Sasuke. So Hinata went for second place.

Contrary to others belief, Haishi truly cared for both of his daughters and his nephew, Neji. But in order to keep the Hyuuga council off guard, he had to keep up an act of coldness in public. Hinata and Neji was also keeping up a mask in public. For Hinata, it was a mask of a shy, weak girl. For Neji, it was a Fate obsessed branch member, who hated everyone in the main branch. Hinata was in fact as strong as Neji in the Jyuuken and was not shy at all except when her family teases her about her arranged marriage with Naruto. Neji had gotten over his hate for the whole main branch, but still held a hatred for the council, who helped with the attempted kidnapping of Hinata when she was three. Of course, without the proof of their involvement, they got away with it.

Back to his 'team', behind him was his 'sensei', Hatake Kakashi. He is also known as 'Sharingan no Kakashi' or 'Kopi-nin Kakashi' for it is said he copied over a thousand jutsu with his implanted Sharingan eye. After the Daimyo's wife left, the Sandaime said, "Good work as always, Team seven. Now we still have some mission left. You can choose from: Cleaning Tsuka-san's gutters, Painting the academy's new storage shed, Grocery shopping for Aiko-san, or-"

"HELL NO!" Naruto interrupted, his arms crossed in an 'X'.

'_It seems he is getting tired of the D-ranks._' Hiruzen thought smirking, '_That will teach him for using that jutsu on me for the past five years._'

"NARUTO! Show some respect to Hokage-sama!" Iruka yelled out.

"It is alright, Iruka. Obviously, Naruto is just wants to _show_ that his team is ready for a C-rank. Also, team seven has completed 50 D-ranks, which is double the amount needed for a C-rank approval." Sandaime answered back knowing that Iruka knew about Naruto's true status. Turning back to team seven, he continued, "There is one _simple_ C-rank mission here. Escort the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his home in Nami no Kuni and Guard him as he finishes his bridge. Bring in the client."

After that was said, the team turned towards the door and in entered a old man, wearing a dark grey sleeve-less shirt and tan pants, with a bottle of sake in his left hand. After looking at the group in front of him, he said, "This is the group whose guarding me? They are a bunch of kids. Shoot, the short kid looks like he is just playing around."

As he raised the bottle to take another drink, the bottom of the bottle feel to the ground and shattered. As his eyes widened, Naruto replied calmly, "Never underestimate a ninja, Tazuna-san."

Before anything else could happen, Kakashi said, "Alright, team. Go home and pack your things for at least a month away. We will meet at the gate in two hours." He left in his usual way. Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna left through the door, leaving Naruto alone with the Sandaime and Iruka.

After making sure that the others were gone, Kakashi reappeared in the room, book no where in sight, and faced towards Sandaime with Naruto. After ten more seconds of silence, Sandaime said, "As agreed, your mission is done, Naruto-kun. You will be replaced back on your original team with your proper status of Jounin."

"Thank you, Sandaime-oji-sama. But, out of curiosity, who will be taking my place on Kakashi-nii-san's team?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, yes. Danzo has _agreed_ to let us borrow one of his personal ANBU. His name is Sai. He is skilled with ink-based jutsu, and his short sword. He hasn't been effected completely by the ways of 'Ne', so you should be able to bring out his emotions." Sandaime explained.

"That should be good, Hokage-sama. When you see Tenzou, can you see if he would be willing to help me with training my team?" Kakashi replied.

"Hmm, why do you need Bear to help you train your team, Kakashi?" Iruka asked, confused by his sudden question.

"The civilian council and elders have been forcing me to train Sasuke more and more. They have also been threatening my father's and Obito's grave." Kakashi answered, with venom.

This angered the other three to no end. If there was one thing you don't do, it's threaten to defile someone's grave, especially a close person's grave.

"I understand. I will pass the message and if he agrees, he will meet a week after your team has returned." Sandaime nodded, "Oh, yes. Naruto-kun, I would like your team to accompany Team seven on their first high level mission."

"I guess Tazuna had lied about what was going on, but couldn't pay the correct amount for the proper rank, right?" Naruto asked, remembering how he told them about the details of the mission.

"That is correct. I had an Cat follow him yesterday. It seems our old friend Gato has been hiding out in Nami. Your teams mission is two parts. First is to help Team seven protect Tazuna. Second is to find and eliminate Gato." Sandaime replied.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Naruto and Kakashi said as they disappeared in a poof of smoke.

'_Good luck, Naruto. And welcome back._' Iruka and Hiruzen thought with smiles on their faces.

(Main Gate - 2 hours later)

After gathering supplies and eating lunch, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna were waiting for the rest of the group to show. After five minutes, Kakashi was seen walking towards them. But the three people walking behind him were definitely not Naruto.

The one on the far right was a boy who had black hair and black eyes sort of like Sasuke's but a little lighter. He also had pale skin and his face show little to no emotion. The only way to tell he had emotion was looking in to his eyes. He was wearing a light grayish-purple Chinese-styled shirt and standard black shinobi pants. He also had a short sword strapped to his back and was holding a scroll in his left hand.

The one in the middle was a girl with long snow white hair and light green eyes. She had on a black and white tank top and black standard shinobi pants. A sword was also strapped to her back.

The one on the far left was a boy with medium length sapphire blue hair and red eyes('_almost as dark as the Sharingan_' Sasuke thought). He had on a Dark blue and black shirt with blue standard shinobi pants. A sword was strapped to his left side.

After the four reached them, Sakura decided to ask the question on their minds. "Kakashi-sensei, who are they and why are they here? Also where is Naruto-baka?"

"Ah, yes. Naruto and one other person will be here soon. But for now, from left to right, this is Shana Ryuu, Yuki Aiya, and Sai. Sai will be taking Naruto's place on Team seven, while he returns to his original position as Team lead of Ryuu-kun and Aiya-chan's squad. They are also here to join us on this mission to help, since this is your first mission outside Konoha." Kakashi explained, ending with his patent eye smile.

"Are you saying that the dobe is actually a Jounin?" Sasuke replied, eyes narrowing at his sensei.

"That is exactly what he is saying, Sasuke." Upon hearing this, they turned to find Naruto and a red-haired girl walking their way.

Naruto looked completely different from two hours ago. Gone was the Safety Orange Monstrosity and in it place was a light blue skin-tight shirt, similar to Kakashi's, a black version of the Jounin vest, black standard shinobi pants, and a white jacket with the kanji for fourteen on both the left front and on the back of the jacket. The jacket also had flames adorned on the bottom of the jacket. Strapped to his back was a huge Zanbato version of the swords on Ryuu and Aiya. If it wasn't for the whisker marks on his cheeks, you would think you were looking at a young Yondaime.

The red-haired girl with him had her hair in a ponytail and dark blue eyes. She had on a dark red and black tank top and dark green standard shinobi pants. Strapped to her left side was a sword, but also her pack was bigger indicating that she was a med-nin.

"Like the new look, Taichou. Really suits you." Ryuu said.

"Yes, it's much better than what we had planed the passed five months." Aiya said, a light blush adorned her face as she thought '_He looks so handsome. I wish I was more braver with confessing my feelings._'

"Anita-chan, Kushina-sama, and Rin really know how to design." Kakashi replied as he thought, '_He looks so much like you, sensei. You would be proud of him, if you were here._'

"Thanks Kakashi-sempai, and sorry we were late. We had to perform a bonfire on all those hideous jumpsuits." Anita said as she stood next to Ryuu.

The other three had different thoughts.

'_Tch, the dobe is still the dobe, no matter what._' Sasuke.

'_At least it is better than the orange jumpsuit. But Sasuke-kun is still way cooler!_' '_**HELL YEAH!**_' Sakura.

'_This is the brat from the mission room? Maybe I am in good hands._' Tazuna.

After doing one final check of inventory, the group set out towards Nami no Kuni.

(5 hours later - road to Nami)

The travel to Nami had been quiet. There had been any attacks or signs of a presence in the area. This silence, of course, was bothering Sakura, who was use to 'Annoying-loudmouth-Naruto'. After another ten minutes, She decided to strike up a conversasion.

Turning to Tazuna, she asked, "Tazuna-san, you come from Nami no Kuni, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna replied, looking at Sakura, who turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, is there any shinobi in Nami?" She asked curiously.

Without looking up from his book, he answered, "No, Sakura. There is no Hidden Village or Shinobi in Nami. The reason for this is that they are isolated from the rest of the Elemental Countries and not that populated. There are only five Major Hidden Villages in the Elemental Countries. They are Iwagakure in Tsuchi no Kuni, Kumogakure in Rai no Kuni, Kirigakure in Mizu no Kuni, Sunagakure in Kaze no Kuni, and our village, Konohagakure, in Hi no Kuni. These five villages are the only ones given the right to have the title Kage for their leaders. They are Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage, Kazekage, and Hokage. They are considered the strongest of their villages."

'_The Sandaime can't be that powerful._' Sakura thought, remembering how old the Hokage looked.

"Hey, you weren't just thinking bad things about the Hokage, were you?" Kakashi suddenly said, which earned an 'eep' from Sakura, "Oh, well. Believe it or not but Sandaime-sama can give me a very tough fight and beat me."

"Back to what Kakashi-sempai was talking about earlier, there are a few smaller Hidden Villages in the Elemental Countries. The two that I know about are Kusagakure in Kusa no kuni and Amegakure in Ame no Kuni. These two don't have leaders with the title Kage because of their size. Of course there was one other village that had a Kage title leader." Naruto continued.

"One other village?" Sakura asked. Sasuke and the others just looked toward Naruto, interested even though four of them already knew what village that was.

"Yes, this village, of course, was destroyed near the beginning of the Third Great War. The village was called Uzugakure in Uzumaki no Kuni. Their leader's title was Rasenkage. It was said to date back to before the Clan Wars, even before Chakra was discovered. It was also said that the Rokudou Sannin came from Uzugakure. But of course that was just a rumor since there was no record of who he was before he became the Rokudou." Naruto answered, eyes still forward.

"If it was destroyed that easily, then it wasn't such a great village." Sasuke replied.

"Actually, the way it was destroyed is still a mystery. Even my mother, who was a survivor of the village, doesn't know what happened. She had been sent to Konoha to get training from Tsunade the slug sannin. Two days after she arrived, news reached Konoha that Uzumaki no Kuni was turned into a wasteland of ruins. Supposedly there are no survivors, other then Kaa-san." Naruto said with a sad smile.

This caused Sasuke to regret what he had said. He knew how it was like to lose family. So hearing that someone else went through the same thing, made him realize he wasn't alone in that feeling.

After another twenty minutes, Naruto and Kakashi noticed two puddles up ahead. Seeing this, they slowed down a bit to let the others get more distance ahead of them. This didn't go unnoticed by Ryuu, Anita, and Aiya. Looking in to each of their eyes, they understood what they were to do next.

After they had passed the puddle, out jumped the Demon Brothers, Gouzu and Meizu. Wrapping the chain that connected their gauntlets together around Kakashi and Naruto, they yanked the chain towards them and ripped them to pieces.

"Two down" Gouzu said, as him and Meizu looked towards the rest of the group.

"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto!" Sakura gasped.

"Three down!" Meizu said as they charged the group.

However, their plans were short lived as Ryuu and Aiya stood in front of the group, while Anita and Sai guarded Tazuna.

Pointing the flat of her palm toward the Demon Brothers, she said, "_Disintegrate, black dog of Randaniini. Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat. __**Bakudou Kyuu: Geki!**_" After that was said, a red light had surrounded not one, but both the brothers. This caused them to stop where they were, shock written on their faces.

This had given Ryuu the time needed to perform his attack on the two. Pointing both his palms at the two, he said, "_Oh ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man! Scorching heat and disorder, evolve the transposition of the southern sea barrier. __**Hadou Sanjuuichi: Shakkahou!**_" Out of both of his palms, shot two balls of red flames which hit the Demon Brothers in the chest and sent them back into a tree and knocked them out. Sasuke threw a shuriken and kunai and latched the chain to the tree on the safe side that they were still conscious, when they go to tie them up.

Before they could do anything else, they heard clapping coming from their left. Turning to the clapping, there stood Kakashi and Naruto, completely unharmed.

"But-but, how? We saw you two get torn apart. How are you two alive?" Sakura asked, shocked at the sight in front of them. She then turned toward where the 'corpses' of Naruto and Kakashi, only to find ripped apart logs. '_Kawarimi!_' She thought.

"We used Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace ourselves with logs and Kakashi-sempai used a simple Genjutsu to make everyone think it was actually us." Naruto replied, even though he saw that she had figured out what had truly happened.

"Good job, teams. Anita, Sai, good teamwork with guarding Tazuna. Ryuu, Aiya, good job knocking out those two. Sasuke, excellent idea pining the chain to the tree for safe precaution. Sakura, you need to work on your reflexes. If you freeze up from that, you could end up killed." Kakashi said as he walked towards them.

"Now, Tazuna-san, care to explain why those ninja after you. This is suppose to be a simple C-rank with only bandit and mercenary encounters." Naruto glared as he went and stood next to his team.

"W-what do you m-mean?" Tazuna asked, nervous from the glare that promised death.

"Those two were Gouzu and Meizu, also known as the Demon Brothers. They are B-rank Kiri nuke-nin's. They are skilled for their brutal teamwork." Ryuu answered first.

"The only other person they would go after was Kakashi-sempai, but they already did that and they continued. They could have easily just escape after that with some proof that they got him, but they didn't." Aiya continued.

"So, that leaves only you as the target. So, are you going to tell us or not?" Anita finished with a sickening sweet tone at the end.

Seeing that he was caught, Tazuna sighed, "All right, you got me. I am being targeted by a super dangerous man by the name Gato."

"Gato? As in Gato of Gato Shipping Industries?" Sai asked with a frown.

"Yeah. You see, Nami used to be a peaceful country. That is until Gato showed up. He may look like a normal business man upfront, but he works a lot in the Black Market and other illegal underworld work. When he came he started taking everything we've had. The reason he wants me dead is because of the bridge to the mainland I am building."

"Basically, if he knocks you off then no one will be able to complete the bridge, right?" Sasuke asked.

"That's right. So, we decided to gather what money we still had to hire some protection. But since we are currently super poor, we couldn't afford anything more than a C-rank. And we could only afford that because of the Daimyo had just enough for it. But, I can understand if you don't want to continue. I will probably just end up killed and my daughter will hate all Konoha-nin and my grandson will cry his eyes out and blame you for letting me die." Tazuna said, turning his back to them with fake sobs.

Upon seeing this, They all thought with sweat drops on the back of their head, '_Damn! Call laying it thick._'

"All right, you can cut the act. We are still continuing the mission." Naruto sighed.

"Really?! That's super awesome!" Tazuna exclaimed as he turned back to them.

"But we expect you to pay the extra fees when you get the money." Kakashi continued.

"Of course! Anything for continuing to help me." Tazuna said.

Turning back to the rest of the team, Kakashi finished, "All right, team. Our mission is now high B-rank, bordering low A-rank. So, keep your guard up. Those two were Chunnin, which means that the next one will be Jounin. Okay, let's move out."

With that they continued onward to Nami. But, what they failed to notice was they were being watched by a hidden nin in the forest.

(Unknown location)

"They Failed! You said that this would be a simple job for you!" screamed a short fat man wearing a business suit, pointing to the man in front of him.

"The only reason they failed was because of Hatake Kakashi of Konoha was with the bridge builder." said the large man sitting in a throne-like chair narrowing his eyes at the fat man, "Next time, the bridge builder will not be so lucky. I will be going this time."

"You better or you are not getting a single ryou out of me. You hear that?!" The fat man said before leaving, his cronies with him.

"Don't worry. No one escapes me alive."

(Two days later - Road to Tazuna's house)

After getting to the boats that would take them across to Nami, they had finally made it to Nami and saw the bridge that Tazuna was building. Once they landed, they continued on to Tazuna's to rest up and figure out the guard and training schedule. As they walked, Sai tossed a kunai towards a bush to his upper-right. This action caused all the others to tense.

Sakura walked over to the bush carefully and checked. What she saw was a snow white rabbit scared unconscious from almost being impaled by a kunai. Turning back to her teammate, she yelled, "Sai-baka, look what you did! You scared this poor little rabbit by doing something like that."

'_That's strange. The rabbit's coat is white? But it's summer. It should be brown. Which means that it…was…raised…_' "GET DOWN!" Kakashi and Naruto shouted out. Without hesitation, everyone fell to the ground just as a giant Zanbato came flying out and attached itself to a tree on the opposite end of the clearing.

When they rose back on their feet, they looked toward the sword to see a man standing on the hilt of the sword. The man had no shirt on and light grey pants. He had bandages wrapped around the lower part of his face.

"I should have known that you were the reason the Demon Brothers failed, Sharingan no Kakashi. Now hand over the old man and I might let you and the kiddies live" the man said.

'_Sharingan?!_' Sasuke thought as he looked at his sensei.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Kakashi started as he raised his Hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan eye.

"I can't do that either." Naruto continued, unsheathing his sword and pointing it towards the man.

"Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza!" They finished together.

"My, my, Sharingan already. And a Zanbato wielder as well." Zabuza chuckled as he pulled his sword out and disappeared.

"There, on the water!" Sakura yelled, as they turned toward the lake to see Zabuza going through hand seals.

"But not good enough. _**Ninpou: Kiri Gakure No Jutsu!**_" Zabuza continued as mist appeared out of no where.

"Team, protect Tazuna! Leave Zabuza to me and Naruto!" Kakashi told the others, who got into a ring around Tazuna facing out and weapons at ready.

"_Eight points…Larynx…Spine…Lungs…Liver…Jugular vein…Collarbone…Kidney…and Heart._" Zabuza's voice came from the mist.

"What the?" Sakura whispered as she and the others tried to find where his voice was coming from.

"_Now, which vital organ do you want to get struck at?_" Zabuza finished releasing some KI into the area.

Kakashi and Naruto realizing this released KI of their on with a chakra pulse to clear some of the mist.

'_This! This is a Jounin's power! I-I can't take it anymore!_' Sasuke thought as he went to raise his kunai to his neck, only to be stopped by what Kakashi says next.

"Sasuke, don't worry. I will not let any of you get harmed. I will never let a comrade die again!" He called out from his position.

"I don't know about that." Zabuza said as he appeared right in front of Tazuna, sword ready.

'_Shit!_' '_What!_' Were the thought's of the seven as they saw Zabuza appear out of no where.

"It is over." He said as he goes for the kill, only to have a sword get slammed through his gut by Naruto and a kunai in his throat.

When this happened, the rest of the team took Tazuna away from there. When they looked back, they were surprised by what they saw. Instead of blood leaking out, it was water.

"Taichou, Sempai, behind you!" Ryuu yelled out as the Zabuza in front of them turned to water and fell.

"Too late!" Zabuza yelled out as he swung his sword and sliced through both Kakashi and Naruto.

Shocked was evident on everyone's eyes, when the Kakashi and Naruto turned into water as well.

'_What?! Mizu Bunshin! But how?_' Was all Zabuza could think when he felt a kunai to his throat and the tip of a sword at his chest.

"Time's up. It's over." Kakashi said holding the kunai closer to Zabuza.

"I see. You copied the Mizu Bunshin earlier when I was making the mist. Clever, but that still leaves how the blonde brat used it to." Zabuza replied.

"I knew the jutsu from the beginning." Naruto answered.

"Good to know, but it's time to stop fooling around." 'Zabuza' finished, before dissolving into water.

This shocked the two to the point that they hit by surprise by kicks in the gut sending them into the water. Of course, Naruto lost grip on his sword and dropped where he was standing before.

After recovering from the kick, Kakashi and Naruto got back on the surface of the water only to realize something odd.

'_Why is the water so thick here? Oh Shit!_' They thought as water surrounded them and trapped them in a sphere of water.

"_**Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu.**_" Zabuza said as he put one of his arms into the water sphere, "Now just sit back and watch as my Mizu Bunshin take care of your kiddies and the bridge builder." After that was said five Mizu Bunshin appeared from the lake and headed towards the mainland.

"_Damn._ Team, take Tazuna and run. Me and sempai will be fine. The mission needs to continue." Naruto yelled out to the team.

"We are not leaving you two behind, dobe. Remember what sensei said at the bell test. 'Those who don't follow the rules are trash.'" Sasuke started.

" 'But those who abandon there friends are worse than trash!' Isn't that what you said, Kakashi-sensei? Well we may be trash, but we don't abandon our team." Sakura continued.

"Tazuna-san, I hope you don't mind this." Sai said as he unraveled his scroll and took a paint brush out.

"I was the one to pull you guys into this. Go ahead and give them hell!" Tazuna replied.

"You heard them, Taichou. We aren't leaving with you." Ryuu said, as him and the girls pulled their swords out.

"Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!" Zabuza laughed.

"What so funny, no-brows?" Anita glared at Zabuza.

"You kids still think this is a game, don't you? Well let me tell you, I have stained these hands with more blood before I even became a Shinobi." Zabuza said, which caused Kakashi's eyes to widen.

"So it was true." He mumbled out loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What was true?" Sakura asked confused like the rest around her.

"Kirigakure had another name called the 'Bloody Mist'. The reason for this is because they had another test several years back. But something happened back then, which caused them to change the Gennin exam format." Kakashi started.

"Ah, that brings back memories." Zabuza sighed.

"I never thought it was true until now." Kakashi finished.

"What did they have to do?" Aiya asked, eyes hardened.

"You had to kill your own classmates in a battle royal. It felt so good back then." Zabuza answered.

"Dude, that's just sick." Ryuu muttered to himself.

"Well kid, that's the life of a shinobi. And the only way you will ever be put in my BINGO book." Zabuza said, silently ordering his Bunshin to prepare for attack.

"Okay, I have a plan. Anita, Aiya, Sai, I need you three to distract the Mizu Bunshin, while Me and Ryuu grab Naruto's sword. Sakura, you stay and guard Tazuna no matter what. Got it?" Sasuke whispered.

"Hai!" were their responses.

"Go!" Sasuke yelled, as him and Ryuu charged the sword and Anita, Aiya and Sai took on the Mizu Bunshin.

(With Aiya)

"Heh, you think you can take me on girly?" 'Zabuza' said bored.

"Think? No, I KNOW I can. _**Tempest Wave!**_" Aiya replied, swinging her at the Bunshin.

This caused the air around the Bunshin to circle and cause small slices to form on it until it dispersed into a puddle of water. After the wind calmed, Aiya sheathed her sword and headed toward Sai, who had the most Bunshins at the time they started.

(With Anita)

If someone else was looking, it would look like the two were dancing. Neither had hit the other, just blocked or parried.

"Hold still, you little bitch!" 'Zabuza' yelled as he swung and missed again.

"What did you call me?!" Anita screamed as her sword was covered in fire.

"I called you a bitch. Got a problem with that, Bitch?" 'Zabuza' replied thinking it would give him the advantage.

"That's it. Say goodbye, asshole! _**Burning Eruption!**_" She stabs her sword in the ground.

This caused the ground around the Bunshin to turn red. And before the Bunshin could realize what was happening, it was obliterated by an eruption of fire as hot as Karyuu Endan.

"That will teach you to not call me a bitch, teme." Anita said, before sheathing her sword.

(With Kakashi, Naruto, and Zabuza)

Kakashi and Zabuza's eyes were wide from Anita's attack, while Naruto just sighed.

"I thought she had gotten over that by now." He mumbled to himself as he turned to Sai, who had three Mizu Bunshins.

(With Sai)

Sai was completely surrounded by the three Bunshin. But that didn't keep him from drawing on the scroll in his left hand.

"Tch, what you going to do? Draw us to death?" One of the clones said, as the others laughed.

A faint smile crossed his face before he said, "Yes, I am. _**Ninpou: Choujuu Giga!**_"

After he said that, beast came jumping out of the ink and collided into the Bunshins, destroying them. After they were gone, Aiya showed up.

"Nice attack." She said.

"Thanks" He replied as he rolled up his scroll.

(With Sasuke and Ryuu)

While the others were distracted by the fights, Sasuke and Ryuu were able to get to Naruto's sword. After Ryuu sheathed his sword, he pulled Naruto's out and was set to send it flying like Zabuza did with his Zanbato.

"Ready?" Ryuu asked.

Pulling out his Fuuma Shuriken, Sasuke replied, "Ready!" He tossed the Shuriken towards Zabuza.

Just before it could hit, Zabuza caught it in his unoccupied hand. Then he said, "You really thought that you could…" This was silenced when he saw Naruto's sword spinning toward him fast. Of course, it wasn't fast enough and he jumped over it.

"Ha. Told you that wouldn't work." He smirked, until he heard a splash from behind. Turning toward it, he saw a Naruto in the air, sword in hand.

"Got you now! _**Air Slash!**_" 'Naruto' swung the sword through the air.

This caused the air in front of him to glow and shoot forward at Zabuza's left arm. Finding no other way to escape, he pulled his arm out and got out of the way. This caused the water sphere to be released and freeing Kakashi and Naruto.

As they stood back on the water, 'Naruto' went over to the original and returned the sword, before dispersing.

"I see you completed that technique. Hayate will like to see it next time." Kakashi commented, "Great plan team. Now let me and Naruto finish this."

"Tch, I got distracted. It won't happen again." Zabuza said.

"No, you were forced to. Thanks to Sasuke, catching a glimpse of the Kage Bunshin that I made in the water. He made a plan which led to me getting my sword back and us free. And I will only say this once, We won't fall for the same jutsu." Naruto replied as he sheathed his sword to get ready to make hand seals.

After five seconds, they started on several hand seals and yelled at the same time, "_**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**_" Three dragons made of water rose from the lake and struck the one opposite of them. After they fell, They started on a new set of hand seals.

'_Damn them. They are copying_' Zabuza thought.

"Everything I am doing" Kakashi and Naruto said.

'_What the? Can they_' "Read my mind? Is that what you were going to think."

"Grrr… I am going to shut those monkey mouths of yours" All three say at the same time.

Just as they were about to finish, Zabuza saw an image of '_Is that me?!_' While this happened, Kakashi and Naruto finished the seals and said, "_**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu**_" Which caused a vortex of water to shoot toward Zabuza and send him into a tree back on the mainland.

As Kakashi approached Zabuza, Zabuza looked up at him and asked, " Can you see the future?"

"Yes, and your future is death." Kakashi replied pulling out a kunai to deliver the final blow, only to be stopped when two Senbon needles collided into Zabuza's neck.

Turning toward the source of the needles, they saw a person with a mask on. The person had on a green baggy battle kimono on and their hair in a bun.

"Thank you for your assistance. I have been trying to find the opportunity to finish him for a while now." The masked person said.

Kakashi walked up to Zabuza and checked his pulse. Upon not finding one, he said, "Yep, he's dead."

Disappearing, only to reappear next to Zabuza, the masked person lifted the 'dead' body up and said, "Then I shall take my leave." And with that Shunshined away from the group.

"Well now, we should get going, right?" Kakashi said, pulling his Hitai-ate over his left eye.

"Yeah, my house isn't to far from here. I'll lead the way." Tazuna replied as they turned towards the direction of where the house was. Only to here, two thunks to the ground. Turning back towards the noise, they saw Kakashi and Naruto face down on the ground.

'_Damn, Chakra Exhaustion._' They thought as they blacked out.

(Another part of the forest)

"Alright, now I cut here and let bleed until…" The masked person said as she reached for the senbon needles, only to have a hand stop them.

"I will handle this." Zabuza said as he pulls the needles roughly out of him, "Damn, why did you have to aim at my neck? Your as rough as a butcher with those needles of yours."

"I didn't want to scar anywhere else on your body and the neck is the easiest target." They replied.

"Take that mask off, Haku. Why do you even keep that thing anyways?" Zabuza asked.

After taking off the mask, it revealed the face of a beautiful teenage girl. Haku then replied, "Because I like it and it helped with the act earlier with the Konoha-nin."

"Come on, let's head back to base." Zabuza said as he went to stand up.

(Two days later - Tazuna's House)

The sun was shinning into the room that Kakashi and Naruto were resting in. A woman with long black hair in a normal kimono was straightening up the room around them and Anita was fixing up any damage they still had. This was what they woke up.

"Oh, I see you two are awake." The woman said as Anita stood up and headed towards the door of the room.

"I will go get everyone else, Tsunami-san." Anita said to the now known woman, Tsunami.

"Of course." she replied as she walked over to the two that were sitting up in the futons they were in.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked, still trying to get his head straight.

"Your in my house. My name is Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter." Tsunami answered as she handed the two cups of tea that were sitting on a tray next to them.

"Ah, thank you." They said, accepting the cups. As they were drinking, the rest of their group rolled in to room, along with Tazuna.

"Good, your awake. You had us worried there." Tazuna said as he leaned against one of the walls.

"Sorry about that. We get chakra exhaustion very easily with the way we use jutsu and other things chakra-related. For me, it was using those two Suiton jutsus I used at the end. Since it was my first time using them, I put more chakra in them then needed. For Kakashi-sempai, it is his Sharingan eye. Since it was transplanted, it constantly taking chakra when it's not covered or closed." Naruto explained.

"Now, back to our situation. Zabuza is still alive." Kakashi said, which caused all but Anita and Naruto's eyes to widen.

"What? How is that possible? You confirmed it. He had no pulse." Sakura said looking at her sensei.

"What did the oi-nin use to 'finish' Zabuza?" Anita asked back.

After they thought for a few seconds, Ryuu and Aiya realized the problem.

"Senbon needles, needles used just like Acupuncture and a very hard shinobi weapon to use." Ryuu started.

"They have a very low kill rate, unless you have perfect accuracy, like Team nine's Tenten. The only way to kill someone with those is to hit a vital organ dead on. And where those two needles hit Zabuza's neck." Aiya continued.

"That can only put someone in a death-like state. Which means he is alive, but will be out of it for one week to ten days. That depends on how skilled the oi-nin is in medics and they have the ingredients to quicken Zabuza's healing." Anita ended.

"So what are we going to do?" Tazuna asked.

"You will continue building your bridge with Ryuu and Aiya guarding you. Ryuu, Aiya, each day you will switch off while the other looks for Gato's hideout. Anita, you will help Kakashi train his team and look after him so he won't over do it, since he needs to recover more than me." Naruto said as he went to lay back down.

"And what about you dobe? What will you be doing?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing.

"I will be here guarding the house and Tazuna's family. You can never know when an attack will happen." Naruto replied, eye smiling at them, only to get hit in the head by Kakashi.

"That's my thing. Get your on." Kakashi said, which caused everyone, but Sasuke, to laugh at the scene.

This would have continued, until a call of "Grandpa!" was heard. They looked towards the door to see a little boy wearing a white shirt, green overalls, and a bucket hat run over and hug Tazuna.

"Inari! Where have you been at all this time?" Tazuna asked as he kneeled down and patted the boy named Inari's head.

"I was staying with Uncle Geichi the last two days. Sorry I wasn't here to welcome you home, Grandpa." Inari answered.

"Inari, say hello to the shinobi that your grandpa hired. They are going to be keeping him safe while they are here." Tsunami said.

Inari looked at all of them and frowned, before turning back to Tsunami and said, "Mom, they are going to just end up dead."

This caused the two teams to frown. It also annoyed Ryuu and Naruto a bit. Sitting back up, Naruto said, "I wouldn't judge that to early. We are stronger then you think."

"No matter how strong you are, Gato is always stronger. You should just go home or you will die." Inari yelled out before running out of the room.

"Geeze, supportive much?" Ryuu muttered sarcastically as he looked toward the door.

"I am sorry for the way Inari acted. He was never like this before Gato came and took over." Tsunami apologized head bowed to the group.

"It is alright. I think I know the reason he is like that. I will talk to him sometime while I am guarding you two." Naruto replied, smiling. Though five of them there could tell that it was fake.

'_What did you see that we didn't, Naruto?_' Were their thoughts as Naruto fell asleep.

(Five days later - Tazuna's house)

It had been five days since Kakashi and Naruto woke up after the attack from Zabuza in the forest. The teams had been doing as they were told and getting excellent results.

Tazuna's bridge was already two-third's done, thanks to Ryuu and Aiya making a few Kage Bunshins to help, and was taking tomorrow off to let the workers have a break to rest for their hard work. Aiya was able to find Gato's hideout, but it had seem that he had abandoned it two days prior and there was no clues to where his new hideout was. After getting Naruto to come with her, they ware able to free some of the prisoners that he had abandoned. All were women and children, ranging from five- to 25-years-old.

They females were obviously being used for sex slaves, while the little boys were beaten upon. Only three of the older females and six of the kids, four boys and two girls, were from Nami. The rest were from other places that had their families killed. One girl, a five-year-old Naruto had found in one of the cells away from the others, had been badly raped from the dry blood and the way her clothes look. After hugging her to him and soothing her, she finally relaxed and fell asleep. Using his cloak, he covered her up and brought her back to Tazuna's. There Tsunami and Anita were able to treat her, but what surprised all of them was what she asked Naruto the day before.

(Flashback)

_It was morning and everyone was getting ready to separate to their jobs. Sitting at the table, Naruto was reading a book that Kushina had given him, if he got bored with nothing to do on the mission. It was a popular book from when she was his age. The book was about a boy, who was thrown into a world of Heroes, Demons, and Magic. It was quite the series and the next volume was to come out by the time the Chunnin Exams._

_When the others got ready to head for the door, Naruto felt a tug on his left arm sleeve. Looking in the direction, he saw the girl that he had brought back yesterday, head looking at the ground, her red locks covering her sky-blue eyes. Smiling, he asked in a soft voice, "Do you need something, hime-chan?"_

_This caused everyone there to look at the little girl. Looking up nervously, she asked in a small, but clear to hear voice, "I was w-wondering w-when you g-go back, I-if I could go with y-yo-u and learn to be a shinobi, too?"_

_Surprised by the question, he could help but smile softly at her. Moving his eyes to Kakashi, he saw that he thought it was a good idea and nodded his consent._

_Looking back at her, he said, "Of course. Me, my team, and my mother will help you out too."_

_This caused her face to brighten up and she asked another question that was on her mind, "If it is all right with you, can I call you Otou-san?"_

_This made everyone stared wide eye at the girl, like she had a second head. Seeing this, she explained, "I-it's just when you helped me back at the cell I was in. The way you talked to me was the way Okaa-chan and Otou-san talked to me. If you don't want, that is fine." She looked away after that, tears welling up in her eyes._

_Before she could turn completely away, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to Naruto. What he said next made her overjoyed._

"_I don't mind at all. But I should at least know the name of the hime that will be joining my family." Naruto replied, which shocked everyone else beyond belief._

"_My name is Miki." The girl named Miki answered with a smile and tears of joy running down her face._

"_Well, welcome to the Namikaze family, Namikaze Miki" Naruto said as he hugged her, which was returned._

(Flashback End)

After that was done, Naruto had shown some surprisingly great parent skills. Naruto and Miki were always together when he didn't need to check something. Even when she was told of what he held in him, she didn't care. To her, Naruto was not Kyuubi, but himself and her father now. This caused the bond to grow stronger between the two.

Team seven's training was coming along greatly as well. Even though Sasuke didn't like being the last to finish the exercise, he did say that when he used the Gokakyu no Jutsu, he was making the same size fireball that he usually did before, but with half the chakra now. He was also able to learn Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu, after working on the tree walking exercise. Sakura had started learning basic medical jutsu to heal wounds. Sai really didn't do much except the exercise and draw on his drawing pad. To which his new models were Naruto and Miki when they were sitting together or asleep. When asked why he didn't train in something else, he answered that he was with drawing and working with his chakra control. To demonstrate this, he laid down a scroll on the ground and out of the bushes came ink-rats, that when they returned to the scroll, turned into words that described what the others were doing.

Kakashi, from what Anita had told them, would be back at full strength tomorrow night. Naruto was fully healed and ready for anything. Now they were all crowded around the table, enjoying their dinner. Well, not everyone was enjoying it.

"Haha, thanks to all of you, the bridge will be complete sooner then expected." Tazuna said downing the sake in his dish.

"It was no problem, old man. We were glad to help. Right, Aiya?" Ryuu replied and Aiya nodded.

Before anything else was done, Inari stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "You piss me off, you know that? Why do you keep trying? No matter how strong you get, you can't beat Gato!" Inari yelled, pointing at Ryuu.

"At least I am trying. I am not crying like a baby." Ryuu shot back glaring at Inari.

"You think you are so great. You don't know what we had to go through, what I had to go through. At least you didn't lose someone very close to you!" Inari screamed before running up the stairs and slammed the door to his room.

If Inari had stayed, he would have seen the sadden looks on Anita, Aiya, and Ryuu's faces.

"I am sorry. Ever since our hero was killed by Gato, Inari had started to lose all hope of freedom." Tazuna said.

"Hero?" Sakura asked.

"He was my husband and Inari's step-father." Tsunami answered.

"About a year before Gato showed up, Inari's dog was thrown into a river in the woods near town. The kids that did it laughed at Inari, because of his inability to swim back then. So they threw him in after the dog and then left when they noticed someone coming. Inari's dog had remember how to dog-paddle after a while and swam back the land and ran off. Inari, who could swim, almost drowned, if it wasn't for Kaiza. After that event, Kaiza adopted Inari, or Inari adopted him. They became like father and son, since Inari's birth father died during a storm out at sea just before he was born. But this didn't last long. When Gato came, Kaiza stood up for our home, but that ended in failure. When we saw Kaiza next, he was crucified with his arms slashed up to the point they were dead. And right in front of the entire village, Gato chopped his head off. Ever since then, the light of hope grew dimmer and dimmer. That is why I am building this bridge. To bring hope back to our land." Tazuna explained.

There was silence all around the table. After a while, Miki spoke up and said, "Where's Tou-san?" This caused everyone, but Kakashi to look at the now vacant spot Naruto used to be sitting at.

(With Inari and Naruto)

Inari was looking out to the ocean, tears coming down his eyes. He muttered, "Tou-san."

Naruto walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused Inari to look toward him. "Hey, sorry about what Ryuu said. It is just that him, Anita, and Aiya have gone through a lot before." Naruto said as he looked out to the ocean.

"Huh?" Inari replied confused by what he was saying.

Chuckling, he continued, "Before my Godfather brought the three to Konoha, and more directly me and my kaa-san, they had lost their families in the crossfire of a battle between Kusa and Iwa. They were the only survivors, orphaned at five and six years old, like Miki when she was taken prisoner." This caused Inari's eyes to widen. "But they didn't cry. Not once. Even though their eyes showed they wanted to, they couldn't."

"Why couldn't they?" Inari asked.

Smiling sadly, he turned to Inari and said, "I asked that same question and Ryuu said, 'Our parents wouldn't want us to cry over their deaths. They would want us to grow stronger and protect each other and anyone else we cared for.' And that might be what Kaiza would want from you."

"But I-I'm scared." Inari mumbled.

"It is scary at first, but once you look deep enough. You will find the strength to be brave and protect what you care for." With that said, Naruto turned and left the room.

Looking back out to the ocean, one thought played through his mind, '_I will try. I will try to be brave like you, Otou-san!_'

(Zabuza's base)

"You Failed! AGAIN!" Gato yelled out, "You were beaten back by a Jounin and his brats! I thought you said you would take care of the bridge builder. But he is still alive and I had to evacuate my base, because those brats found it. Now what does the great 'Demon of the Mist' have to say about that!"

Gato reached out his hand, only to scream in agony from Haku's vice-grip. "Don't touch Zabuza-sama with your filthy hands!" Haku hissed coldly.

This caused his guards to go for their swords, only to find them pointed at their necks and Haku holding them. "Leave now, or I will show no mercy."

Returning the swords to there rightful place, Haku returned to Zabuza's side. Gato and his guards back away toward the door and left, but not before giving one more warning, "You have one more chance. If he is not dead, then it's your head!"

After they were gone, Zabuza said, "You known I could have took care of that." From under the blanket, came a hand holding a kunai.

"I know, but we need him to get paid. Anyway, I am going to change go pick herbs for your medicine." Haku said as she turned and left.

'_Just be careful, Haku. I have a bad feeling that something might happen soon that will cost me my life and leave you alone._' Zabuza thought as he went back to sleep.

(Next Morning - Forest of Nami)

During the night, Naruto sneaked out of the house to train in the night away from the prying eyes of Sasuke. The reason for this was because he wanted to learn the 'Jutsu' that Aiya and Ryuu used on the Demon Brothers. No matter how many times Naruto, his team, and Kakashi told him he couldn't learn it, he continued to ask. Now, Naruto was sleeping against a tree he had used as target practice for four hours, which surprisingly looked to have very little traces of damage.

As he slept, he mentally noticed that someone was near him. As the person stretched their hand toward his neck, it changed course for his shoulder and shock him lightly with a soft voice saying, "Wake up. You shouldn't sleep out here, you could catch a cold."

Opening his eyes, there sat a young woman with long black hair and chestnut brown eyes, wearing a pink kimono with red swirls and borders and cream white obi. Smiling, Naruto replied, "That is very considerate of you, but I can't get sick ever. It would be nice to even once though."

Confused, she asked, "Why would getting sick be a good thing?"

Laughing, he realized he had thought out loud again. He replied, "Sorry, I tend to think out loud sometimes. Okaa-san, nii-san, nee-chan, and Ojii-san think it's genetics, since my dad did the same thing at least around women. But to answer your question, it's because I would understand what everyone else goes through. I have never been sick once in my life. Even when I am around something contagious, like the flu."

"Wow, you must have a very strong immune system." The woman replied.

"No, it is actually do to what happened when I was born. But to learn that, I need a story back about the reason your eyes show sadness, Hunter-chan." Naruto said, smirking at her shock look.

'_How did he? He must have recognized my voice. Damn, why did I have to forget my senbon today of all days._' she thought nervously because she was found out.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything. As I said, I just want to talk, not fight." Naruto said, in order to calm her down.

"Why are you not trying to capture me?" She asked, still tensed from her cover being blown.

"Because you can't put up a fight in those clothes without releasing the genjutsu that covers your breast bindings and I want you to send a message to Zabuza. Now, does the beautiful woman have a name? My name is Namikaze- Uzumaki Naruto, Jounin and Leader of one of the two squads staying with Tazuna." Naruto explained.

"Haku, Apprentice of Momochi Zabuza. How were you able to tell that I was using a genjutsu to cover my bindings? No one has ever noticed before." Haku answered.

"They had never had my kaa-san as a teacher. She beat the ability to sense genjutsu into me, until I could do it in my sleep." Naruto chuckled, "Now, your story?"

Sighing, she said, "Alright, but a question first. Do you have someone precious to you?"

"Yeah, I have lots of people, including a new member of my family." Naruto answered, but left out saying Miki's name.

"I used to have people who were truly precious to me. My parents, but that didn't last long. They died when I was five. And it was all because of my blood." Haku started.

"Blood? You mean a Kekkei Genkai, right?" Naruto asked.

Nodding, she continued, "Yes, because of the Kiri Kekkei Genkai Hunt, any who had one was killed. Me and my mother were the last of the Aisu clan, the rest had died in past wars and letting my mom escape. I was born in a snowy village in the Northern part of Mizu no Kuni. My life was perfect back then, that is until my bloodline activated. It has the ability to control water and ice. When I had shown my Okaa-san, she slapped me for what I was doing. After that, she apologized and told me never to do it in public again. I did what I was told, but the damage was done."

"What happened?" Naruto asked, seeing tears starting to form.

"My dad had saw what I did and formed a mob of villagers. He killed kaa-san and went to kill me. But my Kekkei Genkai fully activated and I killed my Otou-san. After that, I walked around looking for any thing to eat and sleep. After a month, Zabuza found me."

(Flashback)

_A five-year-old Haku was sitting against the railing of a bridge. She just continued watching the people pass and the snow fall with her clouded eyes. Then she saw a man wearing standard Kiri-nin clothing for snowy and cold climates stop in front of her._

"_Well, a child sitting out here in the cold. It's not like anyone will miss you." Zabuza said as he glared down at the young Haku._

"_What are you going to do to me?" Haku asked emotionless._

_Turning around to leave, he called over his shoulder, "Come with me. If you do, I will give you a existence."_

_With that said, he walked away with a young Haku following behind him._

_After an hour of walking, they stood on a cliff looking over the village they were just in. "This will be the last time we see this place in a long time. Are you sure you want to come with me, kid?" Zabuza asked, looking over to Haku._

"_Yes, Zabuza-sama. I am your tool to use. I will always serve you and only you." Haku replied, smiling at Zabuza. This caused him to laugh and said, "Good kid. Good."_

(Flashback End)

"Zabuza-sama gave me a purpose. I became his tool and helped him in any way that I could." Haku finished, wiping away the tears in her eyes before asking, "What about your story?"

Sighing, he took off his jacket and said, "For me, it was a little different since I still have Okaa-san, but still the same. On October 10, thirteen years ago, a great beast attacked Konoha. That beast was the Kyuubi no Youko, the nine-tailed demon fox. Since the Kyuubi is the strongest of the Biju, it can't be defeated by normal means. The only way to beat it is seal it. Of course, It can't be just anything. The only thing that can hold the demon in the seal is a baby that was just born. Unlucky for me, I was the only baby born that the Yondaime could use."

"Wait, if there were other children born that day or resent enough, why did he choose you?" Haku interrupted.

"He couldn't ask for another child, if he couldn't make the sacrifice himself." Naruto answered with a smile, "And I would have done the same thing. He sealed the Kyuubi in me and gave his soul to Shinigami of the Legendary Zero Division. He wanted me to be seen as a hero for keeping Kyuubi contained, but I was seen as Kyuubi reincarnated by three-fourth's of the civilians and one-fourth of the shinobis." He lifted his shirt and channeled chakra to show the seal to Haku.

"I see. So, we are the same, but also different. Thank you Naruto-san for trusting me with this knowledge. Now, I believe you wanted me to give my master a message." Haku inquired as they stood.

Putting his shirt back down and his jacket back on, Naruto pulled out a scroll and said, "This has what Gato has planned for you and Zabuza after you are of no use to him. He plans to betray you both, whether you complete the mission or not. I would like to offer asylum to the both of you. Both of you will be protected by the Namikaze clan, but will be watched by ANBU for a month when you are not at a place of residence. If he accepts, come back here at midnight tonight and we will strategize Gato's downfall."

Taking the scroll, she replied, "I will tell him, but don't expect much. If Zabuza accepts we will be here, but we will be prepared, if this is a trap."

"I understand. We will be here for one hour after midnight. If you don't show up by then, we will know that you declined the offer." With that he headed toward Tazuna's, so Miki won't find out that he wasn't really there.

Watching for another minute, Haku shunshined back to base to inform Zabuza of the offer and the information given to her.

(The next day - Tazuna's bridge)

Team seven, 'Naruto', and Tazuna were shocked by what they saw in front of them. Laying all over the bridge, were the bridge workers from the village. Tazuna ran up to one and asked, "Geichi, what happened? Who did this?"

"The mist. It came out of no where. Then we were attacked. Run, save yourself." was all Geichi got all before falling unconscious.

After Tazuna laid Geichi's head back down, a thick mist appeared around the bridge. "It seems that you have finally recovered, Zabuza." Kakashi called out.

"And it seems you still have the brats hanging around as well." Zabuza said as seven Mizu Bunshins appeared around Team seven and Tazuna. "It seems one of them is still scared. Look he is shaking."

Sasuke just smirked and said, "I'm not shaking from fear, but excitement."

"Go, Sasuke!" Kakashi commanded and Sasuke spun around Kakashi with increased speed and destroyed all seven Bunshins with ease.

"It seems the brat is better then last time. Seems you have a rival in speed, Haku." Zabuza said as he and Haku, in her oi-nin outfit, walked out of the mist.

"It seems so. Allow me." Haku replied as she took out a senbon and charged Sasuke with great speed. To stop the oncoming attack, Sasuke pulled out a Kunai and striked back, only to come to a stand still.

"It seems were evenly match." Haku started.

"It seems so." Sasuke replied arrogantly.

"But I have two advantages over you. The first is the water now surrounding us. And the second is I have one of your hands preoccupied." Haku continued, while creating one-handed seals, "Now you can only run from my attacks. _**Ninpou: Sensatsu Suisho!**_"

Suddenly, thousands of needles made of water were charging Sasuke from all around. But before they could reach him, Sasuke focused chakra to his feet and dodged and deflected the needles and appeared behind Haku. "Now, it is you who will have to run from my attacks." Sasuke said and kicked Haku sending her back toward Zabuza's location.

"What?! Haku lost in speed?" Zabuza said surprised, before becoming serious, "Haku, I thought I told you that you couldn't hold back."

Getting back up, Haku replied, "I am sorry, Zabuza-sama. I will not hold back anymore." With that she speed toward Sasuke, surprising him long enough to kick him back.

As he went to get back up, Sasuke noticed that the air around him had gotten much colder. That was when he heard Haku say, "This is my true power, _**Hijutsu Ninpou: Makyo Hyosho!**_"

Mirrors made of ice formed all around Sasuke, confusing him completely that he didn't notice until to late that Haku merged with one mirror and appeared in the reflections of the others. One thought ran through Sasuke's mind when Haku launched a barrage of senbon at him.

'_I am so fucked._'

(Back with Kakashi and Zabuza)

Upon seeing the ice mirrors surround Sasuke, Kakashi turned to the rest of his team, "Sai, go help Sasuke. Sakura, take Tazuna and go back to mainland to guard him more properly."

"Hai, but what about you, sensei? Naruto isn't with us and his team disappeared after the mist appeared." Sakura asked as Sai ran to assist Sasuke.

"Don't worry. I can handle Zabuza myself." Kakashi replied as he went to lift his Hitai-ate only for his hand to be stabbed, if only by a little, by Zabuza's sword.

"You think I will let you get me with the same trick. Not this time, I came prepared." With that said, Zabuza withdrew his blade and focused more on the mist causing it to get thicker.

This caused Sakura and Tazuna to be unable to run for mainland, but let Kakashi lift his Hitai-ate and reveal his Sharingan.

"Let me tell you, Kakashi. I didn't know how lucky I was that I found Haku on that snowy night. When I found her, she had nothing. When I took her in, she became my greatest 'tool'." Zabuza said from within the mist.

"Nothing is more boring than a man's bragging." Kakashi replied, trying to find Zabuza.

"Can you blame me? Now, let me take something out of your book, 'I won't fall for the same jutsu twice' wasn't it?" Zabuza yelled as he sung at Kakashi, only for it to be blocked at the last second.

This struggle allowed Kakashi to see that Zabuza had his eyes closed. '_Shit. He figured out how to stop the hypnosis the Sharingan performs. Hurry up, Naruto!_' Kakashi thought as Zabuza returned to the mist cover.

(With Naruto)

Naruto knew that he was needed for the plan to work, but he had a bad feeling that something would happen while they were away. So he hid in the woods to keep an eye for attackers on Tazuna's family and his new unofficially adopted daughter.

This of course came true as two wannabe samurai grabbed Tsunami and tied her up. Before he could jump into action, Inari came running at the samurai and was about to be killed. With a quick Shunpo, he got Tsunami and Inari of harms way and killed the two. After talking to Inari, Naruto headed to the bridge where the fighting was coming to an end.

Taking his position, Naruto waited for the mist to clear and show Gato. He didn't have to wait long as he could now see the result of the battle that had been happening. '_Just like we planned_'

(Flashback)

_It was midnight, the moon was high in the sky. This made the clearing that now eight nin were standing in the perfect location for a meeting._

"_I see you accepted, Zabuza. I am glad." Naruto spoke first._

"_Yeah, yeah kid. Let's just get to business. What did you have plan?" Zabuza replied bored._

"_Yeah, we would also like to here this plan." Sasuke said annoyed that he wasn't getting any sleep, with the others nodding in consent._

"_Alright, what we need to do is make the battle believable. So, Sasuke and Sai will be facing against Haku. If what I heard about the Aisu clan is correct, then you have a jutsu that is unbeatable, unless someone is physically more powerful or has a very powerful katon jutsu, right?" Naruto asked as he turned to Haku._

"_Yes, but how did you know that?" Haku replied shocked that Naruto knew about it._

"_The Uzumaki clan were very good at keeping a detail description of Kekkei Genkai's and their abilities, back before the massacre of Uzumaki no Kuni. Haku, you will use that to ' knock out' Sasuke and Sai. Sakura will be guarding Tazuna while standing by to heal any injuries that are taken. Kakashi-sempai, Zabuza, you two will be fighting each other as well. To the point that it looks like you have barely any chakra left." Naruto continued._

"_Isn't that dangerous, Naruto? We could run out of chakra and be unable to battle Gato and his 'bodyguards'." Kakashi said._

"_That's where me and my team come in. I know that you want him Zabuza, but Gato has been a thorn in Konoha's side for the pass three years. Besides, he needs to pay his dues for what his men did to Miki-chan and the rest of the women that they raped. Me and my team will take care of them. Of course, I will be joining later." Naruto finished._

_This confused all of them present. "Why will you be later, Naruto-kun?" Aiya asked looking at her leader._

"_I have a bad feeling that Gato will attack Tazuna's house, so I will stay there until that is cleared. You know the plan now. Any questions?" He asked, with were returned with negatives and they spilt back to there locations to get some sleep._

(Flashback End)

Clapping brought Naruto out of his train of thought, as he turned with the others toward where the clapping was coming from. Gato was standing at the opposite end of the bridge with close to a hundred mercs and samurai.

"Gato, what the hell are you doing here?" Zabuza asked, facing the fat crook and his army.

"Why I am here to see the 'Demon of the mist' fall. I am sorry, I should be saying 'baby of the mist' since you failed again. Oh yeah, the deal was off since this battle started." Gato replied laughing at his bad joke.

"You fat rat!" Zabuza yelled as he stood up and drew his Zanbato that laid next to him.

"Don't feel bad. I wasn't going to pay you anyway. You nuke-nin are way to expensive. So, I hire them and then kill them when their weak." Gato explained.

"That's too bad. Those hired hands won't be getting paid either." Naruto said as him and team appeared all around Gato and his army.

"We have been looking for you, Gato." Ryuu said.

"You have alluded Konoha, for the last time." Anita said.

"You have harmed many people and families. But no more." Aiya called out.

All four drew their sword and pointed towards the group.

"Time to go to hell, Gato." Naruto said, his normal blue eyes changed blood-red with cat-like slits. "Team Shinigami, Attack!"

With that, they striked the group with the others helping as well. After only a few minutes, three samurai and Gato were left. Gato looked around for an exit, but found none. He looked back at the red-eyed Naruto and begged, "Please, I'll give you anything. Money, land, women, anything! Just spare me."

"No, It is over." was all Naruto said, as he sliced through Gato. But that didn't end it. What happened next was transfixed in all their minds. A giant red door appeared from the ground and opened. A hand stretched out of the door and grabbed the soul of Gato and pulled him in, before the door closed and disappeared.

While the group was transfixed, one of the remaining samurai took their sword and attempted to spear Haku from behind. Zabuza seeing this, got in between them and took the samurai's head off.

But not without taking the stab through his heart. Everyone turned to see Zabuza fall to the ground, bleeding profusely.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku screamed as she kneeled down and flipped him on his back.

"Heh, looks like this is it for me." Zabuza smirked.

"Zabuza-sama, please don't say that. You will be healed in no time." Haku said, tears running down her face as she goes through the seals for a medic-jutsu. Only to be stopped by Zabuza.

"Haku, you can't heal this. Even with your knowledge in medics. Haku, I want you to go with Kakashi and the brats group. Don't waste your life…on…me, Musume." With those final words, Zabuza had died.

"Zabuza-sama. Zabuza-sama! ZABUZA!!" Haku cried as snow started to fall.

"It seems that even the skies cry for Haku's lose. Team, go and Kakashi-sempai take Tazuna and his team back to Tazuna's house. Me and Haku will be back soon." Naruto said as he walks over and kneels down next to Haku. To which, she hugs him and cries into his chest.

After the others were gone, Naruto spoke up again, "Are you ready, Zabuza?"

This causes Haku to look at him weird, until she hears, "Kid, why the hell am I not in the afterlife or hell?" Looking toward the voice, she sees Zabuza standing above his body with a plate and broken chain on his chest.

"How is this possible?" Haku whispered, still shocked seeing her dead master in front of her.

"Unlike what most believe, Souls after their life ends do not go straight to the afterlife, unless they feel that they have accomplished what they needed to do before passing on. I believe you want to talk some more to Haku before you leave?" Naruto explained, as he walked away from the two.

Silently thanking Naruto, Zabuza turned back to Haku and said, "I know that I wasn't the perfect role-model. And I considered you a tool. For that, I am truly sorry, Haku. I know that deep down that I don't deserve forgiveness, but can you forgive me, Musume?"

Tears rolling down her eyes again, Haku replied, "Hai, I will always forgive you, Zabuza-sa- I mean, Otou-san."

"Thank you. Alright, kid what now?" Zabuza yelled out as Naruto returned to the two.

"Now, I perform something called, 'Konsou'. What I do is hit your forehead with the bottom of my Zanpakutou. This will send your soul to a place called Soul Society, or as others call it Heaven or Nirvana." Naruto explained as he hefted his sword and showed the glowing symbol.

"Well, I will be seeing you kid. Take care off Haku, or I will come back and kick your ass." Zabuza said.

"Who knows, we may see each other soon again, if you become a Shinigami." Naruto said as he pressed the end of the hilt on his head and him and Haku watch as a Hell Butterfly took Zabuza to Soul Society.

(One week later)

After all the bodies were cleared and the workers were healed, the bridge was continued and finished in three days. One day for clearing the bodies and healing the injured workers and team and two days to work on the bridge. Now they stood on the now finished bridge, to head home.

Of course, the group got larger as all the kids that didn't come from Nami and a few women knew a few shinobi skills and wanted to learn more came along. Before they came to leave and find their new additions, they had buried Zabuza at a cliff over looking the village.

"Haha, thanks to all of you, our country is free and bridge is complete. Super thanks!" Tazuna said the others behind him nodding and cheering.

"It was no problem, Tazuna-san. But most of the credit should go to my team and Naruto's team. They are the true heroes here." Kakashi said.

"Stop being modest, Nii-san. You helped more than me." Naruto said as he held Miki on his shoulders.

"You will remember to visit. Right, Naruto-nii-san, Ryuu-nii-san, Anita-nee-chan, Aiya-nee-chan?" Inari asked.

"Of course, runt. Besides, your grandpa still needs to pay the rest of the money for the mission. So, we will be back." Ryuu said as they turned to leave.

"Goodbye, and a super safe trip back." Tazuna said as they waved goodbye to the group. After they couldn't see the group anymore, Geichi asked, "Hey Tazuna, what are you going to name the bridge?"

"How about 'The Great Tazuna Bridge that I built'?" Tazuna said, smiling.

"Nah, how about 'The Great Naruto Bridge'? After all, he was the one that brought hope back to a broken village." Inari said.

"Alright, Then it's settled. 'The Great Naruto Bridge…that I Tazuna built!'" Tazuna replied, which caused around of laughs from the crowd.

(Three days later - Konoha - Hokage's Office)

"Hmm, I see. First, good job Team Seven on a successful A-rank mission. You will get your pay later and have a week off to rest. Team Shinigami, another excellent job. You will also get your pay later and have a week off, unless an urgent mission comes in. You are all dismissed, except for Naruto, Kakashi, and Haku." Sandaime said to the people in front of him.

After they had left, All that were left was, Kakashi, Haku, Naruto and Miki, who didn't want to leave Naruto's side. To which, Naruto said, "Sorry, Jiji, but Miki-chan is in a clingy stage when she's in a new place with a lot of new people."

Sandaime just smiled and nodded, before saying, "It is alright, Naruto. I remember what you said in the report. Come by two hours after the meeting and you can sign some forms to officially adopt Miki-kun."

Seeing Naruto nod, He continued, "Now, Kakashi, I was able to talk with Bear and he said he would do it. I would let your team know this, before the end off their break. In other words, right after this is done. Okay, Kakashi?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi replied, flinching under Old Hiruzen's glare.

"Lastly, Momochi-Aisu Haku, as Naruto already told you. You will be put under ANBU watch for one month, and then you will be tested for your rank. After that, it is up to you. But do be careful. There are some who would jump at getting you for your Kekkei Genkai in their clan." Sandaime finished.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. And thank you." Haku replied, smiling at the leader.

"No problem, Haku-kun. You are dismissed." Sandaime said.

Before they could leave the room, the door opened to reveal, Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina, standing there.

"Ah, there you are Naruto-kun! Come on, we need to celebrate your return to Jounin status and another grand job." Kushina said.

Before Naruto could reply, Miki asked, "Otou-san, is she my new Obaa-chan?" This caused the room to drop several degrees and Naruto to sweat.

"Oh, look at the time, I got to go, I have a date with Rin! Ja, Naruto, Kushina-sama!" Kakashi said, as he shunshined out.

"I must be going to. I am going to catch up with your team. Bye!" Haku said next as she ran out the door. Hiruzen just shunshined out of there.

"I-I can exp-plian, Kaa-san." Naruto stuttered out from the glare he was getting.

"Do tell." Was all Kushina said as Naruto retold what happen during the mission. After three hours, Kushina happily accepted her new adopted granddaughter and Naruto came out with three broken ribs and an officially adopted daughter.

**A/N:** Complete! My longest chapter ever! I want to get some stuff down now before you point it out in reviews.

First, Yes, I made Naruto a Jounin. No, he is not omega, god-like, or whatever you think.

Second, Naruto performing those Suiton jutsu. He has photographic memory and smarter in this, but he does NOT have Sharingan abilities. He is just that lucky in my story.

Third, the adopted daughter thing. Spur into my mind, if it didn't happen then, it would have happened later on. No matter what!

Fourth, I have probably taken peoples ideas and attacks from other stories. If I have, I sincerely apologize and will write in my next chapter a disclaimer to those things. Also, I don't own Star Ocean, for the Air Slash attack, I had Naruto use. PM me, if the attack is located in somewhere else, don't put it on a review.

Finally, I know that some paragraphs are quite long winded and two or three words are used WAY too much. I will just say I am not the only one to do this so, f*&$ you! :p

Now, the attack list.

**Bakudou 9** - **Geki** ("Conquer") Surrounds the target in a red light that restricts movement._Incantation: Disintegrate, black dog of Rondaniini. Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat._

**Hadou 31** - **Shakkahou** ("Red Flame Gun") Attacks the target with a red blast of fire._Incantation: Oh ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man! Scorching heat and disorder, evolve the transposition of the southern sea barrier._

**Kawarimi no Jutsu **(Replacement Jutsu) The user quickly replaces themselves with another object, such as a plant or an animal (usually a section of log). This usually confuses the attacker and leaves them open to a counter-attack. A fairly common Jutsu, it is one of the basic Jutsu a Ninja must learn before graduating to the Genin level.

**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu **(Hiding Mist Technique) This jutsu envelops the surrounding area in a dense mist, causing anyone within to lose the advantage of sight.

**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu **(Water Clone Jutsu) Creates one or more identical copies of the user out of water. More similar to Kage Bunshin than to a normal Bunshin, these clones are capable of attacking, except each clone's strength is only one-tenth that of the user. Also, the clones can only be controlled within a certain radius of the user.

**Suiro no Jutsu **(Water Prison Jutsu) A move used to trap the victim inside a virtually inescapable prison of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep one arm inside the bubble at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. This Jutsu cannot be performed without a sufficiently large body of water to supply the water for it.

**Tempest Wave **This attack creates a small cyclone of wind blades that surrounds the target(s) and causes small cuts trough out the target(s) body. Currently cannot target anyone that is not in front of you.

**Blazing Eruption **This attack takes the flames that engulf the blade of the sword and hits a target with in a ten foot radius of the circle made from the sword. Flames on level to _Katon: Karyu Endan_. Attack still in developing process as shown in chapter.

**Choujuu Giga **The user uses chakra while drawing a picture to create a drawing that can jump off the paper and move by the will of the artist!

**Air Slash **This attack takes the air around where the sword slashed through and sends a blade of wind energy/chakra at the designated target. Can only go in one direction.

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shadow Clone Jutsu) Unlike the normal Bunshin no Jutsu, this jutsu creates not just an illusion, but real bodies of the ninja. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among the user and every clone. This could be very dangerous if the user is low on chakra or makes many clones. Extra fact: Anything the clones learn, the original learns after they dispel.

**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu **(Water Release: Water Dragon Missile) A powerful attack that creates a huge current of water in the shape of a dragon, which is sent towards the opponent. Except when used by extremely powerful ninja, this jutsu can only be done when in or near a body of water.

**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu **(Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu) A technique used to create a massive blast of water

**Sensatsu Suisho **(Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death) This jutsu freezes water into the shape of sharp needles, which then home in on the opponent, crushing them in a sphere of points and ripping their body to shreds. To perform this Jutsu, the user must be near a body of water.

**Makyo Hyosho **(Demonic Ice Mirrors) This jutsu uses ice to create mirrors surrounding the opponent. These mirrors are as hard as steel, and almost impossible to break through or melt. The jutsu user can travel almost instantaneously between these mirrors and attack while in transit, making it almost impossible to defend from his attacks or to attack him.

That's it. Read and Review. Also remember to vote in my profile for who should be in the Harem. Ja Ne!


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